


Rivals

by teej_318



Series: Byler and Reddie Oneshots [7]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Because apparently I can't read, M/M, Mike and Will are rivals, Protective Mike Wheeler, See the notes at the beginning for the explanation, Soft Boys, They are also athletes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-23 20:29:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19708837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teej_318/pseuds/teej_318
Summary: Mike and Will are captains of rivaling Decathlon teams. They decide to make things interesting during their final event, but something happens that changes their relationship.





	Rivals

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stellarbisexual](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarbisexual/gifts).



> Initially, when I was pitched this story, it was requested as an ACADEMIC Decathlon AU for the boys. But, apparently I can't read because I definitely did not make this an academic Decathlon. That being said, when I was researching normal Decathlons, I came up with the idea for this one-shot and I loved it, and I think you will, too. Mike jumps into Super Protective Mode™ in this, so it works as a Byler fic.
> 
> Apologies to stellarbisexual, who requested the ACADEMIC Decathlon AU and not a normal one. I hope you enjoy this one still!

Will stood in place, stretching his legs and occasionally running in place in order to keep the blood flowing through his body. He was about to compete in the final event in the Decathlon had been participating in for the last two days: the 100-meter dash. As captain of his team, this final event was down to him and he wasn't planning on letting down his team. 

On his left, another team captain approached him. Will recognized the boy as Mike Wheeler, with whom he had a friendly rivalry with going back two years. They usually competed against each other in the final events, but their rivalry was completely friendly. Will would even go so far as to call Mike something of a friend, albeit one he didn't get to see that often. 

"Hey, Byers," Mike said in a mischievous voice. "Ready for me to kick your ass?"

"Only if you plan on cheating, Wheeler," Will replied, giving Mike a grin.

"Byers, how dare you accuse me of cheating!" Mike said, as he pretended to be hit in the chest. "I thought we were friendly rivals!"

"Maybe, but I still plan on whooping you this year, Wheeler."

"Is that so? Care to make things a little interesting this year?"

"What have you got in mind?" Will asked, as he stopped running in place and turned to face Mike, who was grinning at him.

"How about $10 goes to the winner of the race? Nothing too fancy, but a little friendly wager never hurt anyone."

"You're on, Wheeler!" Will said, holding out his hand. Mike took it and they shook briefly, smiling at each other, before they stood apart and prepared for the dash.

Soon, a referee appeared near the front of the line of runners. Will took one last drink from his water bottle as he cleared his mind.

"All right, runners, a nice and clean 100 meter dash will close out this decathlon," the referee said. "You all know the rules, so I don't want to see any nonsense out there."

At this, the referee pulled a pistol from his belt and raised it into the air. Will took a deep breath as he focused his vision forward, readying his body to propel himself forward. Finally, the referee fired a single shot into the air, and Will took off, along with the rest of the runners.

In seconds, Mike had already pushed ahead of Will by about a dozen feet and Will pushed himself to go faster. Without warning, Will felt his chest tighten. He stopped in his tracks, clutching his chest as he tried to get air. Will collapsed to his knees.

Mike seemed to hear Will fall to the ground. He stopped running and hesitated before he turned around. When he saw Will on the ground clutching his chest, Mike felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

"Byers!" Mike shouted, running over to Will and ignoring the runners passing him and the yells of his teammates to keep running. Mike threw himself to the ground next to Will, whose face was turning red. "Byers, what's going on?"

"Can't....breathe," Will replied, struggling to get any words out.

"Okay, don't talk, Will," Mike said. Will couldn't help but notice that Mike had called him by his first name. "Just try and steady yourself, okay? Just focus on your breathing.

Will nodded at Mike and closed his eyes. He blocked out all eternal thoughts and focused only on his breathing. In and out. In and out. In and out.

"That's it, Will, just breathe in and out, in and out," Mike said, sounding relieved that Will was calming down. "Big breaths, Will. Just like that."

Will took several more deep breaths as he felt his heart rate calm down. He could feel his whole body relax as he came down from the panic attack. Sweat was starting to form on his face, but Will ignored it.

"Will, are you okay now?" Mike asked. Will didn't say anything, but nodded. "Can you open your eyes for me? Please?"

"I don't know if I can," Will replied.

"That's okay," Mike said hurriedly. "There are some people on the way to help you, but I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

"Okay," Will said, taking another deep breath.

"Will, I'm gonna grab onto your hand, is that all right?"

"Why?"

"Just trust me, Will. I promise I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

"Okay, Mike," Will said.

Mike grinned slightly at hearing Will call him by his first name. He reached over and grabbed onto Will's hand, which stopped shaking instantly.

"Whoa," Will whispered.

"I know. You were shaking pretty badly there, Will," Mike said. "How do you feel?"

"I still feel a little weird, but I think I'm okay now."

"Can you open your eyes for me, Will? Can you do that for me, your favorite rival? Please?"

Will nodded before he finally opened his eyes again. Mike's face came into focus and it had worry written all over it. But when Mike saw Will's eyes, he smiled at him.

"Hey there, Will," Mike said gently. "Are you okay?"

"'m fine, Mike," Will replied, nodding. "Thank you for coming back for me."

"I think this means our bet is off, Will."

"Yeah," said Will, chuckling. "I guess this does."

"Are you all right, Byers?" came the voice of the referee from somewhere to Will's right.

"I'll be fine. I just overdid it a little, that's all."

"Still, you should probably go and get checked out by the medic, just to make sure everything is in order."

"All right," Will said.

"I'll take you!" Mike said hurriedly. "Can you stand up, Will?"

"I think I need a little help. My head kinda hurts and I feel a little dizzy."

"Okay, I'll help you stand up."

Mike kept his grip on Will's hand and used the other to help Will stand up. It wasn't easy due to Will's legs being shaky and him having difficulty with his balance.

"Just lean into me, Will," Mike insisted. "It's okay. I'll make sure you don't fall.

Will nodded at him and leaned most of his body weight onto Mike, who wrapped his arms tightly around Will. Once Will was steady on his feet, Mike started to lead him toward the medic tent. They reached it after several minutes, passing by both of their teams, which were both silent. But their coaches gave them both encouraging nods of approval. 

Mike helped Will onto the makeshift bed in the medic tent, finally releasing Will's hand. 

"Are you okay?" Mike demanded.

"I will be," Will nodded.

"All right. I'll be right outside, Will. I'm not going anywhere."

"Thanks, Mike," Will said as Mike disappeared outside again. 

Mike remained outside of the medic tent, ignoring all of the looks he was getting from other teams. He didn't even bother listening to the results of the dash or who won the overall decathlon. His only concern was Will. 

After what seemed an eternity, though Mike knew it had only been about 10 minutes, Will emerged from the medic tent, looking better on his feet. The color had returned to Will's face. 

"Hey," Mike said, grinning at Will.

"Hey yourself," Will replied.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better. She thinks I just exerted myself too much, which caused my heart rate to increase more than it usually does when I'm running and it sent me into a panic attack. She had me drink some water and she took my blood pressure and everything. Once I drank a whole bottle, I felt better so she said I could go."

Mike nodded before he did something neither of them expected. He pulled Will into a tight hug, wrapping his arms tightly around Will and resting his head on Will's shoulder. Will was taken aback by the hug and hesitantly wrapped his arms around Mike.

"You scared me out there, Will," Mike said. "I'm just glad you're okay now."

"Thank you, Mike," Will replied, smiling to himself.

Mike broke the hug and smiled at Will.

"You wanna blow this joint and maybe get a milkshake or something? My treat."

"Sure."

* * *

An hour later, Mike and Will were sitting at a diner together, sharing a milkshake. They were dressed in their normal clothing, having cleaned up after leaving the medic tent before Mike drove them in his truck to the diner, after Will had assured his mother he was all right.

"Listen, Mike, thanks for everything today. You really didn't have to do all that, you know. Someone would've come and gotten me."

"You don't have to thank me, Will," Mike said seriously. "And there was no way I wasn't going to stop and not help you."

"Well, I really appreciate it. And I know my Mom does too, so thanks from both of us. Can I ask, though? Why did you stop? We're not exactly friends or anything."

Mike hesitated, suddenly blushing slightly. Will frowned at him.

"Is something wrong?" Will asked, concerned.

"N-no," Mike stammered. "It's just...I, uh..."

"What is it, Mike? You can tell me."

"Um, well first of all, your safety and wellbeing are more important than a stupid race, Will," Mike said. "When I heard you fall to the ground, my body just kinda froze before I turned around and saw you. I don't really know how to explain it, but something just came over me and I had to help you. I hope that's not weird or anything."

"No," Will said, reaching across the table and putting one of his hands over one of Mike's. "That's very thoughtful of you. I didn't know you cared so much."

"I do. I care about you a lot, Will. You're the only person not on my team who actually talks to me at these things. I guess I just kinda wanted to be a friend to you."

"You did?" said Will, taken aback once again by Mike's words.

Mike nodded shyly.

"I'm sorry if that's weird or whatever, but I just felt like you are someone I could get along with. We might be rivals, but I still feel a connection to you, Will. I can't explain it." 

"I get it, Mike," Will said. "If I'm being honest, I kinda felt a connection with you too these last couple of years. I was just too nervous to ask if you wanted to be friends."

"Well, I do want to be friends, if you do," Mike said with a smile.

Will nodded.

"We should definitely be friends, Mike. You basically saved my life out there today. I'll be forever grateful for that, Mike Wheeler."

"I'll always be grateful that you said yes to being my friend, Will Byers."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! It's not quite what was requested, but I still enjoy it. Let me know your thoughts!
> 
> Come yell at me on Tumblr: [@wackywriterwhowriteswhenever](http://wackywriterwhowriteswhenever.tumblr.com)


End file.
